Hay Street, Kalgoorlie Explained

Hay Street
Local Map:yes
Zoom:11
City:Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Founded:1890s
Services:Brothels

Hay Street is a street in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. For most of the history of Kalgoorlie, it was a notorious red light area.

The prevalence of brothels was part of the law and order issue of an isolated mining town, where two-up, prostitution and gold stealing were all regularly reported forms of criminality.

The street and its associations would regularly be reported in mainstream media.

Towards the end of the twentieth century the prostitution was less infamous, and photographs and stories were more public than in earlier times.

Regulation[1] and prohibition of the prostitution in the street have been publicly discussed a number of times by the local government and citizens of Kalgoorlie.[2]

one brothel continues to operate.[3]

The street, being close to the town centre, has a number of important administration buildings, and other businesses.

Notes and References

  1. News: Fined for brothels . . 41 . 11,691 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 18 May 1967 . 5 March 2017 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  2. News: Controversy rages over Kalgoorlie's street of sin . . 52 . 15,590 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 29 May 1978 . 5 March 2017 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
  3. News: Kalgoorlie's 'Pink House' the last brothel standing on Hay Street's historic red-light district. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 July 2019. Jarrod Lucas. 11 January 2020.